La Fàbrica Gottardo de Andreis Metalgraf Española, coneguda popularment com “La Llauna”, va acollir l’empresa de fabricació i litografia d’envasos metàl·lics que l’italià Gottardo de Andreis va fundar a Badalona a principis del segle XX, que va estar en funcionament de l’any 1919 fins al 1980.
En aquest edifici, l’arquitecte Joan Amigó i Barriga demostra un cop més la versatilitat d’estil de la seva arquitectura, que en aquesta obra s’allunya més de l’estil modernista i acull i fa la seva interpretació de l’estil propi de la Secessió vienesa.
El més destacable de l’obra són les dues façanes principals, la del carrer de la Indústria i la del carrer d’Eduard Maristany. En la primera, la del carrer Indústria, s’hi poden observar les clares influències vieneses comentades: garlandes acabades en volutes, la disposició dels ritmes, i fins i tot la utilització de motius com el que es repeteix a la part superior de la façana, que recorda a una lira musical, són elements que mostren clares similituds amb façanes d’Otto Wagner.
El més rellevant de la façana del carrer d’Eduard Maristany, a tocar de la via del tren, són els mosaics realitzats per Lluís Bru i Salelles, un dels mosaïcistes més importants del modernisme. Aquests detalls ceràmics representen els escuts d’Espanya, Sampierdarena (barri genovès, lloc d’origen de l’empresa) i Badalona. El mosaic restant, situat a la part inferior, no és un escut, sinó que és la representació d’un volcà en erupció.
Per a l’estructura, Amigó i Barriga opta per una solució constructiva de pilars de ferro colat que suporten bigues de gelosia, també de ferro, per tal d’aconseguir una major flexibilitat en la planta.
The project deals with the rehabilitation of a three-storey factory as a secondary education institute. The nave has three longitudinal bays, all three of the same width. The pillars of the ground and first floors are made of concrete, while those of the second floor are straight cast iron. The ceilings are based on ceramic joists supported on lattice beams. All the intervention is based on the respect of the structural pre-existences; there are subtractions and additions that organise the program and circulations and establish a clear spatial and functional hierarchy between all three floors.
The current "La Llauna" High School takes up part of the block of houses comprised between the streets of Sagunt, Indústria, Providència and Eduard Maristany, built without a unitary plan. It is a four-storey building with a sliding entrance door. For the construction of the ground floor, they were inspired by the outside of the city, and it is for this reason that it was conceived as a free space, with ramps and stairs that are repeated side by side in order to allow the rapid circulation of students. On the first floor there is a hall, a space designed to rest between classes. The removal of slabs from the intermediate floors allows it to have the maximum height dimension.
The most notable elements of the original building are the façades of Indústria and Eduard Maristany Street, with large-scale decorative features of Secessionist influence. These are vegetal garlands finished in volutes, square flower friezes in the first and large mosaic medallions with shields in the second.
It is a factory that belonged to the company founded by the Italian Gottardo de Andreis at the beginning of the 20th century, dedicated to the manufacture of lithographed tin containers. Initially, the factory consisted of two floors. In June 1910, two floors were added on the Indústria Street side, where there are sgrafittos of floral motifs and large scrolls. The other phases of expansion lasted until 1922.
Around 1980, the company suspended payments, and the entire block of houses could pass into the hands of the City Council. However, only a small sector has been acquired and occupied by the Miralles Institute (Pinós project) in 1984.
The building's refurbishment project won the FAD award for interior design and rehabilitation (1986), as well as the Beau 1 Spanish Architecture and Urbanism Biennale.